Examples of what parents, caregivers and whānau do and do not have to pay

Fees for enrolment are unlawful.

Enrolment is free and there can be no charge for anything associated with the enrolment process.

Item	Category	Key
Application fee	Other	X
Enrolment fee	Other	X
Out-of-zone ballot fee	Other	X
Bond	Other	X

Boards cannot ask families, caregivers and whānau for contributions to operational costs.

These costs should be covered by the school’s operational funding. Operational funding is paid by the Ministry of Education.

Item	Category	Key
Heating, lighting and water	Operational	X
Soap, hand sanitiser, tissues	Operational	X

Item	Category	Key
Access to school/kura network	Curriculum	X
Use of school/kura hardware	Curriculum	X
Contribution towards devices such as tablets, smartphones, netbooks, laptops, chromebooks	Curriculum	X
Requiring students/rangatahi to provide software or pay for software licenses	Curriculum	X
Requiring students/rangatahi to provide calculators	Curriculum	X
Purchase of non-compulsory hardware or software	Goods and services	$

Out-of-school programmes that are not part of the core learning programme (curriculum) are considered a good/service.

Schools and kura are responsible for making it clear that participation is voluntary and incurs a charge.

Item	Category	Key
English for speakers of other languages (ESOL)	Curriculum	X
Reading recovery and learning support	Curriculum	X
High school 'subject fees'	Curriculum	X
Specialist units (e.g. Montessori, Arrowsmith, Te Reo Māori, Gagana Sāmoa)	Curriculum	X
Supplementary programmes (e.g. Mathletics)	Curriculum	X
STAR courses	Curriculum	X
Tertiary-level courses offered as part of the school programme	Curriculum	X
Tertiary course (dual enrolment at tertiary institution)	Goods and services	$
Gifted education programmes	Goods and services	$

Item	Category	Key
Textbooks	Curriculum	X
Workbooks (compulsory)	Curriculum	X
Workbooks (optional, when parents have agreed to purchase)	Goods and Services	$
Photocopying or printing as part of core education programme (curriculum use)	Curriculum	X
Photocopying or printing (personal and not needed for core programme learning, extra-curricular use)	Goods and services	$
Stationery (if parents decide to buy from school or kura stationery shop)	Goods and services	$

Item	Category	Key
Swimming as part of general curriculum (at school or off site)	Curriculum	X
Swimming as voluntary activity (lunch time or after hours)	Goods and services	$

Schools and kura cannot ask you to pay for materials used in delivering the core learning programme (curriculum).

This includes cooking ingredients for a food technology class.

• Food eaten as part of a food technology class is part of the core learning programme (curriculum).
• This is because students need to taste the food they prepare to ensure it is fit for consumption (sensory evaluation).

Schools can charge parents/whānau for the cost of materials when they have agreed that the item can be taken home, for example, an item of clothing.

Item	Category	Key
Materials used as part of delivering core learning programme (curriculum)	Curriculum	X
Take-home component where parents have agreed to purchase (for example, a letterbox or an item of clothing)	Goods and services	$

Item	Category	Key
Tuition (course-related)	Curriculum	X
Tuition (optional outside of general education programme, extra-curricular)	Goods and services	$
Instrument hire (course delivery)	Curriculum	X
Instrument hire (optional, extra-curricular)	Goods and services	S

Boards can charge you for optional activities such as sports trips that are outside the core learning programme (curriculum).

Participation is optional and schools can charge you if you have agreed for your child to participate.

Item	Item Category	Key
Visiting drama or music groups (non-curriculum)	Goods and services	$
School sports teams	Goods and services	$
After-hours/lunchtime/weekend culture or sports activities	Goods and services	$

Schools and kura are not expected to make profits from school uniforms – they should recover only what a uniform costs.

School uniforms and supplies — Commerce Commission(external link)

Item	Category	Key
Uniform from a school or kura uniform shop	Goods and services	$

Events such as school balls are not part of the core curriculum and are optional to attend. Students can attend this kind of event if they buy a ticket.

Students should not be stopped from accessing these kinds of optional activities because their parents or whānau have not paid for other items. For example, a school or kura should not require parents or whānau to pay for sports costs or make a donation towards the school camp before they can buy a ticket to the school ball.

Item	Category	Key
School or kura ball	Goods and services	$
School or kura magazines	Goods and services	$

Item	Category	Key
Attendance dues	Compulsory	$

A school or kura can continue to ask for donations for overnight school camps, even if they are part of the core learning programme (curriculum).

Such a request is for a donation. Families and whānau can choose to pay the donation in full, in part, or not at all.

What is a school camp?

Item	Category	Key
Overnight camp as part of specific course (for example, Year 12 Outdoor Education)	Curriculum	D
Overnight camp as part of general education programme (curriculum) (for example, Year 9 orientation camp, Year 7 EOTC camp)	Curriculum	D
Overnight geography field trip	Curriculum	D
Trip/visit as part of general curriculum	Curriculum	X
Charge/fee for an optional event (for example, extra-curricular weekend ski trip)	Goods and services	D